Andy Serkis

Of the countless visual effects that wowed moviegoers in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy (2001-03), none had the sheer impact of Gollum, a former hobbit transformed into a piteous creature...
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Serkis thanks Franco for Oscars backing

By:
WENN.com Source
Jan 11, 2012

Serkis shot to fame when he was transformed into the creepy Gollum in the Lord of The Rings trilogy and he has since given King Kong and Rise of the Planet of The Apes' Caesar a face.
Franco recently insisted Serkis' pioneering work in motion capture technology would revolutionise Hollywood, saying, "It seems like such a shame that Andy doesn't get recognised now, because this is the moment when he's really broken through... He's doing it (motion picture) better than anyone else on the planet... What he does is real acting."
He also urged Academy Awards voters to consider his Rise of the Planet of the Apes co-star for a Best Actor honour - and Serkis is overjoyed with Franco's support.
Serkis tells Movieline, "I thought it was extraordinarily bold and honest, and quite frankly I was thrilled that James had written it. It just goes to show that an actor who is in pursuit of creating drama isn't prejudiced against live-action or performance capture or any method of performing.
"(Franco) is one of the first actors who has been bold enough to really state, and in such a humble way, that the weight of the movie lies in Caesar's hands. I thought it was incredibly articulate."

Serkis shot to fame when he was transformed into the creepy Gollum in the Lord of The Rings trilogy and he has since given King Kong and Planet of The Apes' Caesar a face - and Franco insists his pioneering work will revolutionise Hollywood.
The 127 Hours star says, "To me, it seems like such a shame that Andy doesn't get recognised now, because this is the moment when he's really broken through... He's doing it (motion picture) better than anyone else on the planet... What he does is real acting."

Welcome to the third annual WTF Movie Awards, our annual celebration of the most baffling and bizarre moments in cinema. Our congratulations to this year's winners of the coveted Frank Trophy (pictured right):
Most Surprising Hit: The Lion King 3D
There were few surprises to be found among this year’s highest-grossing titles. Even Bridesmaids, widely regarded as 2011’s breakout hit, had a boatload of rhapsodic buzz that presaged its success. With audience enthusiasm for 3D lukewarm at best, who could have predicted that a 3D-refurbished Lion King would earn upwards of $94 million?
Most Inexplicable Flop: Happy Feet Two
So dominant has been animation’s hold over the box office in recent years that a $100 million-plus domestic tally for even the weakest of major-studio releases seemed a given. Not so for Happy Feet Two, which has yet to break the $60 million mark after over a month in theaters.
Best Unintentional Comedy: Abduction
The field in this category was perhaps the most competitive in years. With its formidable comic one-two punch of Leighton Meester and Minka Kelly, The Roommate emerged as the clear-cut favorite in the early going, fending off such early challengers as Red Riding Hood and Sucker Punch. Its victory seemed all but assured until September, when it was overtaken by the hilariously ill-conceived Taylor Lautner action vehicle, Abduction.
Best Inadvertent Horror Flick: New Year’s Eve
Over the course of 118 soul-sucking minutes, Garry Marshall and his celebrity minions cycle through one cringe-worthy moment after another in this relentless blitzkrieg of schmaltz.
The Ewan McGregor Award for Achievement in Male Full-Frontal Nudity: Michael Fassbender, Shame
Outside of Anthony Weiner, no public figure earned more press for his exposed naughty bits this year than Fassbender, whose “Fassboner,” as it has been affectionately christened, could propel him all the way to the Oscar stand. (Well, that and his haunting depiction of the soul-deadening effects of sex addiction. Details.) Fassbender stands a solid chance of being the first actor nominated for both an Academy Award and an AVN Award in the same year.
WTF Performer of the Year: Andy Serkis
As the super-smart ape Ceasar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Serkis not only put forth the first convincing case for CGI performance-capture filmmaking, he outshined his human co-star, James Franco, who appeared far less life-like in comparison.
WTF Movie of the Year: The Skin I Live In
In a year when reliable WTF directors David Cronenberg and Lars von Trier produced films disappointingly lacking in stomach-churning imagery, Pedro Almodovar stepped up with a work of pure, unmitigated deviance: gorgeous, grotesque, and meticulously discomfiting.

Tonight brings yet another trailer for a highly-anticipated 2012 release, and while it may lack exploding football fields and terrifyingly incomprehensible villains, it still offers much to recommend it. Behold the first glimpse of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first episode of Peter Jackson's two-part return to Middle Earth:
Head over to Apple to see the HD version.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey stars Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, and Andy Serkis. It opens December 14, 2012.

The Adventures of Tintin comes out this Friday, and we've compiled a collection of clips in celebration of Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the Belgian comic book by artist Georges Remi. Tintin stars Jamie Bell as the title character, a sprightly young reporter investigating a story surrounding a sunken ship called the Unicorn. Joining Tintin is his loyal dog Snowy and the wily Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), who are all in for much more of an adventure than they bargained for.
Tintin approaches Captain Haddock in hopes of hearing his family secret about the Unicorn. But Haddock cannot help Tintin...at least not yet.
The Adventures of Tintin comes to theaters this Friday, Dec. 23.

One of the surprise hits of Summer 2011 Fox’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a sci-fi thriller out of place in a season full of superheroes sequels and animated movies. Though its CGI and state-of-the-art motion capture technology is what drove the masses to the theaters the sociological message at the film’s core is what made it such a unique blockbuster. That and Andy Serkis of course. The former (and future) Lord of the Rings star takes on the role of Caesar in the big-budget prequel to the classic franchise and is without a doubt the greatest special effect the film boasts. His performance evokes more emotion than any of the other actors were able to deliver and the digital character he helps create is one of the true cinematic marvels of the year. Lucky for me (and all fans of the film) Fox’s home entertainment release of Apes is an in-depth look at how it was made as well as an ode to the original series.
Before I tell you all about the great special features the Blu-ray contains I must first make mention of how incredible the HD transfer of the film is. The 1080p picture enhances the aesthetic of the Apes and the natural environments featured in the movie ten-fold; this is perhaps the first time that I preferred a home-viewing instead of a theater screening. And don’t even get me started on the sound: with a decent 5.1 surround sound system you’ll be able to hear the Apes in a virtual three-dimensional setting as they make their way from tree to tree and roof to roof. It’s a world that you’ll be happy to be immersed in and the bonus content will take you even further inside.
The deleted scenes don’t just add to the story they inform the viewer of the genius of Andy Serkis as most feature the performer’s raw unfinished footage as Caesar. These clips show you how his movements and facial expressions would eventually translate to the final cut and it’s incredibly fascinating to behold. A perfect complement to these scenes then is a featurette entitled “The Genius of Andy Serkis” in which his co-stars producers and director gloat about his superpowers. For the longtime Apes follower another extra “Mythology of the Apes” finds the filmmakers discussing the legacy of the Charlton Heston movies at length including how older plot points informed the prequel. With “A New Generation of Apes” the WETA visual effects team dishes on the challenge of bringing an army of Apes to the big screen while “Breaking Motion Capture Boundaries” expands on it with on-set footage that shows you the equipment used to make the monkeys and doubles as a stunt display that breaks down the gripping Golden Gate bridge sequence at the climax of the movie.
The musically inclined audience will love another featurette that finds composer Patrick Doyle discussing the thought-process behind the beautiful score of the film. It’s an enlightening piece of content as I find it most interesting to hear why certain harmonic choices were made at pivotal points in the picture. All too often a movie’s non-pop soundtrack doesn’t get the attention it deserves so it’s nice to see the Fox was willing to give this incredibly talented department its due on the disc. Additional features include “The Great Apes” a documentary that shows you how various primates live in today’s world a concept art gallery trailers sneak peaks and two separate commentary tracks one with director Rupert Wyatt and another with writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver which are both worth tuning in to.
I’m often disappointed with the lack of bonus content available to consumers on Blu-ray discs but Fox Home Entertainment treated this release with utmost care and consideration so my advice is to add Rise of the Planet of the Apes to the stockings of the movie fan in your home this season.

The two films, which have already picked up early awards, will compete for the Best Picture at the 17th annual Critics' Choice Awards, as selected by the Broadcast Film Critics Association in America.
They will be up against Midnight in Paris, Drive, The Help, Moneyball, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Tree of Life and War Horse.
George Clooney (The Descendants), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Ryan Gosling (Drive), Brad Pitt (Moneyball), Michael Fassbender (Shame) and Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar) will compete for the Best Actor prize.
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Viola Davis (The Help), Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin), Charlize Theron (Young Adult) and Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) make up the Best Actress category.
Christopher Plummer, Albert Brooks, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Nolte, Patton Oswalt, Andy Serkis, Octavia Spencer, Shailene Woodley, Berenice Bejo, Melissa McCarthy, Jessica Chastain and Carey Mulligan will compete for the supporting actor and actress prizes.
Meanwhile, Alexander Payne (The Descendants), Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), Nicholas Winding Refn (Drive), Steven Spielberg (War Horse), Martin Scorsese (Hugo) and Stephen Daldry (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) will fight it out for Best Director.
The Critics' Choice Awards take place on 12 January (12).

"Games aren't going to go away. The BAFTAs have got a category for games as an art form. The Academy should think about that too." Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes star Andy Serkis campaigns for a new videogame category at the Oscars.

The Brit has found fame with a series of motion-capture performances, playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings series and the title character in 2005's King Kong remake. He embraced the technology again this year (11) with roles in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin.
But Serkis reveals he has fallen foul of some experts who combined visual effects with his movements and facial expressions to bring his characters to life.
He tells the Hollywood Reporter, "I've been bombarded by hate mail from animators saying, 'How dare you talk about 'your' character when all these people work on it after the fact? We're actors as well.' They are actors in the sense that they create key frames and the computer will join up the dots, carefully choreograph a moment or an expression and accent it with an emotion.
"But that's not what an actor does. An actor finds things in the moment with a director and other actors that you don't have time to hand-draw or animate with a computer."

Over 80 years after the Belgian artist Herge first conceived him Tintin the plucky journalist-adventurer whose stories have sold over 350 million books worldwide has finally got his own big-budget Hollywood movie. The Adventures of Tintin is already a runaway hit in Europe where it opened in late October (some eight weeks ahead of its U.S. release) and where the character enjoys the bulk of his popularity. But while most Americans have never heard of Tintin they’re undoubtedly familiar with the name of Steven Spielberg who after directing 24 live-action features makes his 3D-animation debut with the rollicking action-adventure.
The film is set in the early-middle 20th century in an unnamed European town. Though his spiked widow’s peak and baby-faced visage peg him at no older than 16 the titular Tintin (Jamie Bell) is already a respected newspaper reporter and something of a neighborhood celebrity. (He also lives alone and owns a handgun -- quite an accomplished young lad indeed.) The chance purchase of a model boat leads him to a mystery involving a treasure-laden ship that was lost at sea over three centuries prior. Together with his trusty dog Snowy and a drunken sea captain named Haddock (Andy Serkis) he embarks on a globe-trotting adventure that pits him against a nefarious figure named Sakharine (Daniel Craig).
Like the Indiana Jones blockbusters it’s so clearly crafted to evoke The Adventures of Tintin is cutting-edge filmmaking with an old-fashioned ethos. Spielberg’s gift for spectacle hasn’t diminished one iota with his transition to animation. The inexorable march of technology and the constant bar-raising of the 3D-animated genre has schooled us to expect dazzling color and detail and Tintin dutifully delivers on that front but what impressed me most about the film is the cinematography which is nothing short of astounding. Liberated from the physical constraints of the live-action realm Spielberg and his longtime director of photography Janusz Kaminski deliver shot after shot of breathtaking scope and complexity.
Such freedom of imagination has its drawbacks of course. I grew tired of the filmmakers’ fondness for reflected images. They’re found everywhere in the film -- on mirrors windows eyeglasses bottles and anything else translucent or shiny. Moreover story is reduced to a secondary role in service of the film’s elaborate set pieces. And Tintin himself for all his exploits is an unremarkable protagonist his only distinguishing features a determined optimism and a MacGuyer-like ingenuity.
The Adventures of Tintin was made using a “performance-capture” approach of the type pioneered by Robert Zemeckis which might bring alarm to those who recall the infamously dead-eyed characters of Polar Express with disdain. The technology has come quite a long way since those rueful early days. The characters in Spielberg’s film possess a vitality and expressiveness that signal the much-maligned “uncanny valley” could soon be a thing of the past.

Title

Had a small role opposite Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale in Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige"

Early film credit, "Prince of Jutland"

Acted as the model for the oversized ape in Peter Jackson's remake of "King Kong"; also had a small role as Lumpy the Cook

Had co-starring role in the film "Among Giants"

Played a computer-generated ape in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"

Portrayed Albert Einstein in the British drama "Einstein and Eddington" (BBC/HBO)

Appeared as the murderous French rogue Rigaud in the BBC Television adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Little Dorrit"

Featured in the Royal Court production of "Hush"

Co-starred as Ian Brady in the British TV movie, "Longford"; written by Peter Morgan (Channel 4/HBO)

Made professional acting debut in "Privates on Parade"

Provided the vocals and physicality for the character of Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy (lensed 1998-2000); released over a three-year period: "The Fellowship of the Rings" (2001), "The Two Towers" (2002) and "The Return of the King" (2003)

Appeared in Mike Leigh's "Topsy Turvy"

Garnered attention for playing a gangster in the TV production "Finney"

Played Jennifer Garner's boss in the comedy "13 going on 30"

Lent his vocal talent in "The Adventures of Tintin," directed by Steven Spielberg

Cast in the WWI horror film, "Deathwatch"

Played the evil villain Capricorn in "Inkheart"

Had featured role in "Pandaemonium"

First feature film with director Mike Leigh, "Career Girls"

Co-starred on the London stage in "A Lie of the Mind"

Won acclaim for turn in the gritty play "Mojo" at the Royal Court; reprised role in the 1997 film version

Cast as Bill Sykes in the British TV remake of "Oliver Twist"

Returned to Middle Earth as Gollum in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien and directed by Peter Jackson

Summary

Of the countless visual effects that wowed moviegoers in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy (2001-03), none had the sheer impact of Gollum, a former hobbit transformed into a piteous creature by its lust for the magical ring. And while its fully articulated appearance was a miracle of digital effects, the character would have had none of its impact were it not for the astonishing performance of Andy Serkis, the English actor who lent his voice and physical movements to the role. Serkis' turn, alternately tragic and treacherous, was hailed by critics worldwide; he would go on to give life to another Jackson digital creation - the title beast in "King Kong" (2005) - and prove himself a versatile talent in his own skin with notable supporting roles in "13 Going on 30" (2004), "The Prestige" (2006), and "Longford" (2006). The actor continued to earn acclaim for live-action roles in such U.K.-produced dramas as the Ian Dury biopic "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" (2010) and more stunning motion-capture work in box office hits like "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (2011). Fans later thrilled to the news that the performer would be reprising the role of Gollum in Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012), the first of another planned trilogy. Despite the fact that his most notable roles were delivered via computer technology, Serkis had become one of film's most respected and sought-after performers.

Education

Name

Lancaster University

St Benedict's School

Notes

"When I first got the call from my agent it was more of an animated character with me just doing the voice. I just went 'there must be a dozen decent parts in that film; can't you get me one of those?' I just wasn't keen. Then Lorraine my wife, just said, 'Durrr, this is Gollum.'" – Serkis to Empire magazine, December 2003

"It was an extraordinary journey and at times quite a lonely one." – Serkis on filming "The Lord of the Rings" to Empire magazine, January 2005